OU Spotlight: Thundurus

Introduction

Thundurus has always been a devastating force in battle, no truer words could be said. It goes without saying that he can be a monster to face on the battlefield; thanks to his excellent stats, a decent typing in Electric / Flying, and a fairly wide movepool, he can make or break offensive teams. Prankster and Thunder Wave are the two main reasons to choose Thundurus, and they're staples in the creation of many offensive movesets. Back in BW, Thundurus' immense power brought him face to face with the ban-hammer. Following some new additions to XY, he's come back to OU with a vengeance! This article will show you exactly why he's become one of the defining forces in the tier, and will also tell you exactly how to stop him.

Thundurus's Qualities:

The first things we should look at are his two abilities: Prankster and Defiant. Prankster's main selling point is that all non-damaging moves receive a +1 priority boost, so one would instantly see Thundurus as an excellent supporter; upon closer inspection, however, Thundurus doesn't have much to work with, with the best Prankster-boosted move being Thunder Wave. Don't let this put you off, though, as Thunder Wave is one of the main reasons why he's so threatening. Offensive teams generally have a hard time against him, as most offensive Pokémon either struggle to keep up with Thundurus' great base 111 Speed, or are at risk of getting paralyzed by Prankster Thunder Wave. Defiant is another great ability which shouldn't be overlooked; it serves as a great punishment to users of Defog and those with Intimidate, raising his Attack by two stages. With good physical options in Knock Off and Superpower, walling his Defiant boosted attacks can be quite the challenge. Thundurus also has a very interesting type combination, granting resistances to Bug-, Fighting-, Steel-, and Flying-type moves, as well as immunities to paralysis, Ground-type moves, and every hazard excluding Stealth Rock. Thundurus is even more interesting in the sense that both of his offensive stats are sizable, meaning he can pull off a purely special or a mixed set. The differing roles between the sets can really catch opponents off guard, and makes facing Thundurus a very difficult challenge indeed.

Playing With Thundurus:

Here are a few sets that Thundurus can pull off in battle. These are mainly based around offense, but let your imagination run wild; he's capable of much, much more.

Mixed Attacker

Thundurus @ Life Orb
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 76 Atk / 180 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Knock Off
- Superpower / Thunder Wave
- Hidden Power Ice

The mixed attacking set is very effective in the current metagame, and it's not difficult to see why. Sitting at a comfortable 111 base Speed, Thundurus narrowly outruns the Lati twins, meaning he can smash them with Knock Off and, with the correct prediction, OHKO them in the process if he jumps in on a predicted Defog. Speaking of Defog, Thundurus can take on almost every Defogger in OU one-on-one; this includes Skarmory, Mandibuzz, Mega Scizor on the switch, and Latios. With a boost from Defiant, even Latias and Mew are easily OHKOed by Knock Off. Superpower is a very important move on this set, as it allows Thundurus to threaten Chansey after her Eviolite is removed by Knock Off. Alternatively, if you already have a teammate that handles Chansey, you can forgo Superpower for Thunder Wave, and replace Defiant with Prankster; this way, you can threaten both offensive and defensive teams alike. Hidden Power Ice provides near perfect neutral coverage, and also helps with Pokémon that Thundurus would otherwise have some difficulty taking on, such as Gliscor, Landorus, Garchomp, and Dragonite. 76 Attack EVs ensure that Knock Off OHKOes Latios after Stealth Rock damage, 252 Speed EVs maximize Thundurus' Speed, and the rest go into Special Attack for a little more oomph. Life Orb is the preferred item, as it provides a plentiful boost to both his physical and special attacks.

Prankster Attacker

Thundurus @ Life Orb
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid / Naive Nature
- Thunderbolt
-Thunder Wave
- Hidden Power Ice / Hidden Power Flying
- Focus Blast / Psychic / Knock Off

This set should only be used when special walls are either severely weakened or out of the picture completely. While this set is very similar to the above, it can be played in a completely different way. First off, Prankster and Thunder Wave are a must have for this set, as they give Thundurus a way to threaten sweepers such as Latios, Latias, Greninja, Terrakion, and Gengar. Second of all, the nature is set to Timid, though this is the least significant change. The third difference is the second coverage move, with Focus Blast and Psychic being the best options. The preferred move is Focus Blast, since it can threaten Tyranitar and its Mega Evolution, Excadrill, Heatran, Bisharp, Ferrothorn, Diggersby, and Kyurem-B, but if your team can already handle those threats, then Psychic can be used to better handle Mega Venusaur, Gengar, and Amoonguss. Once again, Life Orb is the preferred item, as it provides the flexibility that a Choice item can't offer. 252 Speed and Special Attack EVs bring out the best in Thundurus' sweeping capabilities, while 4 EVs are put anywhere except for HP, as this leaves Thundurus with a good HP number for Life Orb and Stealth Rock damage.

Nasty Plot Sweeper

Thundurus @ Leftovers / Life Orb
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 4 Def / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power Flying / Hidden Power Ice
- Focus Blast / Thunder Wave / Substitute / Taunt
- Nasty Plot

The Nasty Plot set functions very differently from the first two sets. The primary role of the first two sets is sweeping offensive teams, but this set is designed to power Thundurus up and break through walls that would otherwise be able to endure his attacks. Thunderbolt is an obligatory move on this set, but each Hidden Power has its perks over the other. Hidden Power Flying is the stronger of the two by virtue of STAB, and allows Thundurus to threaten Mega Venusaur, while Hidden Power Ice has near perfect coverage with Thunderbolt, and allows Thundurus to better handle Gliscor, Garchomp, and Landorus. What makes this set so effective is the fact that Thundurus is amazing at forcing switches; this is largely due to the fact that enemies that fear a Thunder Wave will flee the scene. Despite this set's raw power, there are still ways to defeat Thundurus. Walls such as Chansey and Gliscor behind a Substitute can endure his attacks, as well as Amoonguss and Focus Sash Breloom, both of which can take a hit or take advantage of a setup turn and use Spore — this is where Taunt comes into play. With Taunt, Thundurus prevents Pokémon from healing, setting up, and inflicting status on him, so as the opponent's crippled wall switches out, Thundurus can set up another Nasty Plot. However, Thundurus generally prefers Thunder Wave over Taunt, so only use Taunt if your team doesn't really need the paralysis support and/or needs a method to handle stall teams. Substitute can be used to take advantage of a switch, as being able to take an extra hit can be more worthwhile than raising your power. If you simply want maximum fire power, then you can use Focus Blast to threaten Chansey. The item can go one of two ways; Life Orb increases the maximum damage output, while Leftovers provides a little longevity. Lacking a Life Orb isn't an issue here, considering the fact that Thundurus has Nasty Plot to raise his Special Attack to very high levels. 252 Special Attack and Speed EVs assures Thundurus to hit as hard as possible and to outrun the Lati twins, while 4 EVs outside of HP are for a good HP number for reducing damage from Stealth Rock and Life Orb.

Playing Against Thundurus:

Due to his versatility, Thundurus is a very difficult Pokémon to face, making many of his counters relatively situational. However, checking Thundurus is a bit easier to pull off — his underwhelming bulk leaves him open to a plethora of revenge killers. Sadly, when Thundurus is about to be checked or countered, he'll often go for Thunder Wave, crippling whatever attempts to KO or wall him when he's able to do so. To counteract the paralysis, either use a Pokémon that's immune to Electric-type moves, such as Mamoswine or Mega Manectric, or have a cleric handy, such as Chansey.

Now that we've established the risk at hand, let's talk about the actual checks and counters. Thanks to his immunity to Thunder Wave, much higher Speed, the ability to 2HKO with Thunderbolt, Mega Manectric is probably one of the best checks in the game. A potential Lightningrod boost could also be in the cards, so make sure you play your cards right! Mamoswine is another relatively good check, as it can take on any set that lacks Focus Blast and 2HKO Thundurus with Ice Shard. Bulky Mega Scizor can stomach any attack with the exception Nasty Plot boosted Thunderbolt; Mega Scizor can then proceed to Knock Off Thundurus' Life Orb, nerfing his power to the point where Roost heals more than the damage being dealt. The best check by far is Sand Rush Excadrill, outspeeding Thundurus in the sand, laughing at any attempt to paralyze him, and brushing off almost every non-Fighting-type attack Thundurus can materialize, he has no problem setting up Swords Dance and knocking Thundurus out of the sky with Rock Slide. In terms of counters, Cresselia is the closest thing that comes to mind; her amazing bulk lets her avoid a 2HKO from every attack thrown at her, while she can 3HKO Thundurus with Ice Beam, though this can become a 2HKO depending on how much Life Orb recoil Thundurus receives; be careful of Nasty Plot sets though, because Cresselia will struggle to compete without Light Screen on the field. The second best counter is Mega Venusaur, which can take almost any attack thrown its way and threaten to 2HKO with Sludge Bomb, though sets that run Psychic and Hidden Power Flying will give it trouble. Third place goes to Sylveon, since no attack thrown its way will 2HKO it, it can use Wish to keep her health up, Heal Bell to rid the team of paralysis, and Pixilate Hyper Voice to easily 2HKO Thundurus; be careful of Taunt on the Nasty Plot sets though, as Thundurus may have other teammates lined up to deal with Sylveon.

True counters to every Thundurus set are few and far between, but finding counters to one or two sets is a less challenging ordeal. Tyranitar works as an amazing counter to any Thundurus without a Fighting-type move, since the sand raises his Special Defense to very high levels, thus allowing him to avoid a 3HKO from Thunderbolt, and he can either OHKO Thundurus with a Stone Edge or be more risky and predict the switch so you can set up with Dragon Dance. Regular Tyranitar also works very well, as he can use a Choice Scarf to get the jump on Thundurus and OHKO with Stone Edge, or even use Pursuit on a predicted switch, but he shares Mega Tyranitar's fate when it comes to Fighting-type moves, so he's more of a check against those sets than a counter. Chansey is capable of completely stalling out Prankster Attacker and non-Taunt variants of Nasty Plot Sweeper sets, can heal up with Wish or Soft-Boiled, has Natural Cure and Heal Bell to counter paralysis, and can Seismic Toss Thundurus to her heart's content, but the looming threat of Knock Off from the Mixed Attacker set will dramatically affect her walling capabilities, and a Superpower after that is a clean 2HKO.

Fitting Thundurus Onto Your Team:

Thundurus is best fit for balanced and hyper offensive teams, as with the power he provides with his offensive stats, the excellent Speed stat, and the support provided with Thunder Wave, and while Thundurus doesn't need much specific support, there are still a few ways to improve his presence in a battle. First, Stealth Rock support is greatly appreciated, as Thundurus is often capable of forcing switches due to his Speed and Prankster Thunder Wave, so the residual damage that the opponent receives is always convenient. Good providers of Stealth Rock include Chansey, which can use Wish and Heal Bell to patch Thundurus up as needed while also sponging up special attacks and status, and Ferrothorn, which can take on Mamoswine and Excadrill fairly well. Second, a wallbreaker is appreciated, since Thundurus is either walled by special walls or the Mixed Attacker set lacks the raw power to break through walls, with good wallbreakers being Mega Heracross and Mega Medicham, which appreciate the paralysis support that Thundurus provides and can break through special walls with ease. Third, Thundurus greatly appreciates hazard removers, as his Stealth Rock weakness can cut down how many times he can come in and deal damage, so Excadrill works as the best Rapid Spinner partner, thanks to it being a physical attacker and appreciating the paralysis support, so the two have decent synergy with each other. The best Defogger is Mega Scizor, which can counter Mamoswine and check Excadrill while providing a means of threatening special walls for Thundurus. And finally, having a teammate to take hits for Thundurus is highly advised, as Thundurus usually can't take any more than a single hit. Mega Venusaur is a good teammate, thanks to its good overall defenses and flexibility when it comes to team building. Cresselia is also a worthy candidate, as she has gargantuan defenses perfectly fit for taking repeated attacks, and Lunar Dance can patch Thundurus up in a pinch or provide him with a safe switch.

Get Out There!:

Thundurus is easily one of the most threatening Pokémon to face. Thanks to his great Speed tier, prioritized Thunder Wave, great mixed offenses, a fairly wide movepool, and several good sets, Thundurus is not only the muscle of balanced and hyper offensive teams, but can also be the backbone thanks to his ability to cripple offense with Prankster Thunder Wave. If you're looking for a way to keep hyper offense in line, and as long as you know what you're doing, then Thundurus will show you why he's known as one of the most prominent OU threats.

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